The Spanish gambling market is said to become worth around 39 billion euros by the year 2010, while the retail betting market is expected to grow to around 4.5 billion euros, more than 750% of its current size.



The main growth driver is said to be the interactive gambling market, which is expected to increase to around 4.2 billion euros by the end of year 2010, 36% more than its current level.









With the recent lowering of restrictions within many autonomous regions in Spain and the working toward a liberalisation of the market, the interactive gambling sector is set to benefit far more than the retail betting sector.



Perhaps this is why companies like William Hill, Ladbrokes and other big players are already poised for expansion into Spain - with companies like St Minver who operate Juega Poker Ya already having done so, and have seen major growth in registrations to their online game sites. Many international companies, like William Hill already have joint venture agreements in place and are poised to take advantage of the retail betting market in Spain.



The online betting market in Spain is currently dominated by men, and the same can be said for subscribers to other online gambling sites. 70% of online poker players are men wishing to emulate the great Spanish poker champion, Carlos Mortenson, World Poker Champion just 4 years ago.



However, women are increasing their ventures into the online world with internet behavioural patterns of women changing dramatically over the last two years. Women are now dominating many site visits in certain areas such as health and family or research sites, and search patterns and page views in general for women are up on sites which were never previously expected. Women are also starting to increase their interest and visits to gambling and gaming sites, where female casual gamers far outweigh those of men.



Men enjoy the internet for the experience in technology and adventures it offers, but women are likely to use it more for the social and communicative elements.



One recent survey showed that younger women were more likely to go online than younger men - some 86% of women between the ages of 18-29 go online compared to 80% of men in the same age range. Unmarried men are more likely to go online than unmarried women, while 75% of married women use the internet as opposed to 70% of men.



Men are likely to have higher speed internet connections at home, with nearly 60% of men having faster bandwidth connections. However, the growth rate for women’s participating in online activities is much faster than that of men, and women are likely to use the internet more for sending emails, researching health and family issues, law, audio clips and maps.



While men use the internet more for recreational purposes, such as fantasy football leagues and hobbies, women are far more likely to play casual games than men. Women also use the internet and email more for expanding their relationships with friends and colleagues. They are also dominating online transactions in e-commerce sites and other paid subscription services.



Bingo and slot machine gaming are other areas where growth in female subscriptions outpace males. 81% of female subscribers to bingo sites play the slot machines. There is a social element that goes with bingo and the inbuilt casual games and chat rooms. Perhaps this is the reason many women use them as a way of gaining and expanding friendships.



Poker has also seen an increase female activity. Recently some high profile TV stars went on record to support their interest in poker, and Juega Poker Ya has seen a vast increase in the numbers of women registering to join the online poker fun.



Women have also started to increase other statistical patterns. They now make around 45% of all calls to gambling help lines and advice centres.



So while previously the internet and online gambling was dominated by male searches, women certainly are not lagging behind when it comes to such recreational and entertainment activities.

By: Morgan Collins

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Written by Morgan Collins for Juega Poker Ya, juega tu suerte en linea en espanol.